Sorta Random Thoughts/Rants on a Sunday Afternoon

My wife woke up too early this morning with an aching ankle. I wanted to stay in bed. She wanted to get up. We got up. — The newspapers were not here yet.

I made her a cup of tea and brought her pills, opened the windows in her sunroom and turned on the heater. — The newspapers were not here yet.

I fed the cats. Mist had been quiet, but Smoke had been MEOWING since we had gotten out of bed. He finished all of his food but Mist left a bit of hers — into the fridge went her leftovers. Smoke will usually vomit if he gets too much of what he likes too quickly, so I put it away and give it to him a few hours later. He doesn’t seem to mind if it’s cold, but Mist won’t touch it. — The newspapers had arrived.

It was cool outside but not really cold. Yeah, I know I live in SoCal, but I spent Christmas week a number of years ago in northern Minnesota. I don’t remember a single day that the temperature got above freezing. I do remember deciding to go for a walk around my mother’s neighborhood and putting on seven layers of clothing — I walked down the steps, took half of a deep breath, and returned to the warm confines of my bedroom, removing several layers of clothing and proceeded to drink several cups of steaming hot coffee — Ahhhhhh . . .

After bringing in the papers, I made coffee. Well, I had half a pot left over from yesterday and, being the miser I am, poured some creamer (soy) into my cup and filled it with yesterday’s brew. Into the zapper it went — 99 seconds, yes, I like it hot and it’s a 12 ounce mug — then a teaspoon of sugar.

Into the living room and turned on the boob-tube to the English and German football games. Read through both papers starting with the comics and ending with the news sections, finishing my coffee before the papers.

Then into the spare bedroom, which has our recumbent exercise bike. Turn on the fan and the lights, connect this laptop to the TV and put the football games on — courtesy of Spectrum’s computer app. Cycled for the next 100+ minutes watching the tube and reading Asher’s Line War — and getting up to help Di get to the bathroom/loo when she needed to go and bringing her a fresh pack of cigarettes.

Then another cup of coffee, breakfast for each of us, re-read several newspaper articles I was interested in and on to the crossword and Sudoku puzzles in the papers.

Random thoughts?

Well, let’s see:

How do people who don’t read newspapers get their news? There is nothing in-depth on social media; television is sound-bites, sports, weather and celebrity.

Have you ever boiled water on the stove and it seemed, or seems, to take forever before you can add the ingredients? My wife is British and we have an electric teakettle. Heat your water in the kettle while gathering your ingredients. By the time you’re ready the water is hot, add things together and just keep the pot hot.

Ever noticed how much better condensed soup tastes when you add just half of the water the recipe/directions call for? Just add frozen peas, corn or mixed vegetables and it becomes a real meal, or even two.

Venezuela — ghads what a mess. The U.S. (and others) now recognize an unelected, self-proclaimed president as the leader of the government. The elected (no, I’m not going to get into the legitimacy of things) president is urged to step down. What business do we have meddling in the internal affairs of another country? (Think of our reaction to neighboring countries, allies or others demanding President Trump step down because Mrs. Clinton actually received more votes than he did and giving veiled threats about the use of troops to change things.)

Which brings on another question — How many countries have U.S. troops operating within their borders without their permission or a declaration of war? I mean, how would we react to Syrian or Afghani soldiers landing in Florida or Virginia? Shouldn’t we treat them as we expect to be treated by them? Or are we “special,” with a manifest destiny to make the world comfortable for ourselves no matter what the other seven billion people think?

And you wonder why North Korea and Iran want a nuclear capability? And if North Viet Nam had possessed nukes in the 60s?

The Oscars — NO, just no, no, no. ABC is televising the presentations and their pre- and post- shows, seemingly endless hours of narcissistic self-congratulation by the entertainment industry. I mean, didn’t people already vote with their wallets? Why watch the Oscars? To be told: yes, you were right, it’s the best film or performance or no, you’re wrong, this little arty film is the one you should have liked and seen. (No, you’ll never watch it and next year you’ll have to be reminded of what won this year and do it all over again.)

No, I haven’t seen Roma; from watching the trailers I couldn’t even figure out what it was about, therefore, a no go. No, I can’t remember having ever seen a film by Spike Lee, and I’ve never watched a Woody Allen move in its entirety. Yeah, I know I’m a barbarian and only want to watch entertaining, escapist films, not those which show me the world and how it really is. (I get that from the papers, 60 Minutes, CNN and watching the homeless push their shopping carts around the city.)

Manny Machado — 10 years: $300,000,000.00 — which is about $185.000.00 / per game over a ten-year span and assuming he plays every game (and, no, I don’t think he’ll get the Padres into the World Series). Just think, he’ll make more money for playing a single baseball game than most (any?) of us will make, or have ever made, in an entire year.

How much will Manny pay in taxes?

How much do Bezos, Buffett, Gates and Donald John pay in taxes? Amazon made $11,000,000,000 in profits last year and paid $0 in income taxes; yet they wanted billions in incentives to put their HQ in New York to make more in profits and still pay nothing in taxes. I’m not one of those who believe New York was wrong in having second thoughts about gifting Amazon.

Interesting article in the LA Times today about politicians and using your phone apps to keep track of you for the purpose of targeting you with their ads (and who knows what else).

Socialism

Socialism seems to be the new buzzword being used to target Democrats and other opponents of the Republicans and Donald John.

Ever notice how those who can afford the best medical care say it is too expensive for everyone to have even basic medical care provided by the government? Even if they work for the government which provides for their medical care?

Do you have a Social Security Card and Number? Provided by the government — Socialism!

Do you get a Social Security check? Provided by the government — Socialism!

Do you have Medicare? Provided by the government — Socialism!

Do you drive on public roads? Provided by the government — Socialism!

Did you or your children go to public schools? Provided by the government — Socialism!

Is your water delivered by a government water district or your sewage treated by a government sanitation district? Provided by the government — Socialism!

Does your farm benefit from subsidies and price supports? Provided by the government — Socialism!

Is your food inspected for safety? Provided by the government — Socialism!

Are your police and fire departments government agencies? Provided by the government — Socialism!

You want a border wall on our boundary with Mexico? Provided by the government — Socialism!